COLUMBUS – The Columbus Crew have agreed to terms with English Football League Championship side Middlesbrough F.C. for the permanent transfer of Homegrown midfielder Aidan Morris for an undisclosed transfer fee. The Crew will retain a percentage of any future transfer fees for Morris.
After initially joining the Crew Academy in 2017, the 22-year-old has played in 83 MLS regular season matches (67 starts), recording six goals and 14 assists. He started all seven postseason matches in which he appeared and featured for the full 90 minutes as the Black & Gold captured the 2020 and 2023 MLS Cups. Morris was named to his first MLS All-Star Game last season, when he was also honored as a 22 Under 22 presented by BODYARMOR selection at the end of the year as one of the league’s best young players.
“Watching Aidan’s growth as a player and person during his time at the Crew has been a true privilege, and we greatly appreciate his dedication to the Club and our city,” said Crew General Manager Issa Tall. “Aidan has always been focused on learning and improving, and he’s an exceptional role model for our Academy players. We are proud of what Aidan accomplished individually and with our Club as he made a significant impact in the Crew’s history. He always aspired to play in Europe and earned the opportunity, and we look forward to him further displaying his form and character as he joins Middlesbrough.
“This is an important moment for both Aidan and our Club,” continued Tall. “We pride ourselves on having a player pathway in place that identifies and cultivates talent. In addition to his personal commitment, Aidan’s transfer is a credit to the entire Club’s efforts to developing players who can compete at a high level.”
“I’m just so blessed… My heart is Black & Gold. It’s been an amazing ride,” Morris shared Saturday after the Crew’s 4-0 victory against Sporting Kansas City at Lower.com Field, when the Club honored the Homegrown player and his contributions to Columbus. “Besides from all the MLS Cups, I’ve created amazing relationships here with amazing people, and that goes a lot more of a way than winning. I can’t thank the Crew fans enough [and] the organization, Issa and (former Crew President and General Manager and Black Knight Football Club President) Tim (Bezbatchenko).”
Morris started 15 of his 16 MLS matches played in 2024, recording two goals and six assists. He played in six of the Club’s seven Concacaf Champions Cup matches and scored the equalizing goal in first-half stoppage time of the second leg of the Semifinals, a 3-1 victory at Monterrey, to help the Crew reach the Final for the first time in Club history.
A U.S. Youth International, Morris earned his first senior cap in 2023, starting and playing all 90 minutes in an international friendly against Serbia on Jan. 25, 2023. The midfielder, who was recently in camp with the U.S. Under-23s for its final pre-Olympic training camp, has earned five senior caps.
Morris signed a Homegrown contract with the Crew on Jan. 14, 2020. He made his MLS debut on July 11, 2020, entering in the 77th minute of a 4-0 victory over FC Cincinnati. In his rookie season, he appeared in 10 games (two starts). When the Club claimed its second league title, Morris became the youngest player in league history to start an MLS Cup at the age of 19-years and 27-days old. He went the full 90 minutes as the Crew secured the championship with a 3-0 victory over the Seattle Sounders, the largest margin of victory in MLS Cup history.
After missing the entirety of the 2021 season with a knee injury, Morris returned to action in the 69th minute of the Crew’s 4-0 season-opening victory on Feb. 26 and appeared in 27 total league matches in 2022. Following the conclusion of the season, he was honored with the Kirk Urso Heart Award, the ninth player to receive the award after Urso was posthumously honored in the accolade’s inaugural year in 2012. The Homegrown midfielder was chosen as the player who best exemplified the qualities in a teammate and became “the heart” in the Black & Gold locker room.
Morris started all 30 regular season games in which he appeared in 2023, tallying career highs in goals (four) and assists (seven). He started all six of the Crew’s postseason matches and provided the assist for Malte Amundsen’s 17th minute goal in the first round against Atlanta United on Nov. 12.
Hailing from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Morris featured for the Columbus Crew Academy from 2017-19 with the Under-16/17 and U-18/19 squads. The midfielder was a member of the Crew Academy team that finished third at the U.S. Soccer Development Academy U-19 tournament for the 2017-18 season. He totaled 42 appearances (39 starts) for the Crew Academy, scoring eight goals.
At Indiana University in 2019, Morris made 22 appearances (21 starts) for the Hoosiers, scoring two goals and posting a team-best eight assists. Contributing to the club’s Big Ten Men’s Soccer Tournament championship, he earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors and was Top Drawer Soccer’s highest-ranked freshman in the nation.
TRANSACTION: Columbus Crew transfer Homegrown midfielder Aidan Morris to Championship side Middlesbrough F.C. for an undisclosed transfer fee, announced on June 28, 2024. The Crew will retain a percentage of any future transfer fees for Morris.
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